


Fire Emblem Heroes: A Lingering Hope

by SharpEyLogic



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29246478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharpEyLogic/pseuds/SharpEyLogic
Summary: When worlds fall and all is lost, the most unlikely of alliances are made. And sometimes those relationships blossom into a bond different from anything else. A bond built on lives of tragedy and the need to find hope. A hope that was always by your side and never wavered. The two feared generals of Hel - Lif and Thrasir - find that hope, on the Day of Devotion festival."Even if we leave this world, we still have each other. We are each other’s lights in the darkness"
Relationships: Líf & Thrasir (Fire Emblem), Líf/Thrasir (Fire Emblem)
Kudos: 30





	Fire Emblem Heroes: A Lingering Hope

Lif didn't know what to make of this. Even after serving Hel and witnessing calamity after calamity, he still had the capacity to be surprised. Even after the trauma of causing his Askr's fall dulled his senses, Lif wasn't above being confused and frankly peeved by destiny's plans with him. What could cause a feared general of Hel so much discomfort?

Dressing up for the Day of Devotion festival and attending it alongside the queen of Askr: Henriette, the crown prince: Alfonse and the imperial princess of Embla: Veronica. Truly a strange bunch, considering Princess Veronica was technically enemies with Prince Alfonse before. But their relationship smoothed over their campaigns through the Nine Realms and though Veronica would never admit it, Embla and Askr were in a mutual alliance now.

"And that leaves me," Lif muttered to himself as he stood on a relatively tall hill overlooking the festival grounds. Members from the Order of Heroes were hard at work setting up stalls while merchants brought in their stock, ready to sell later in the day. Lif, as a denizen of Hel, didn't exactly need to prepare aesthetically. He was what was called a shade, meaning he can alter his appearance at will to suit his needs, "Why did the gods see fit for me to partake in this frivolous festival…?"

"Perhaps… we were sent here to unwind," A familiar voice suggested and Lif turned from his position on the hill towards his fellow general: Thrasir, her ragged cape flowing in the gentle breeze. Her expression, normally flat and indecisive now twitched with a bit of uncertainty. Lif knew she was as confused as he was, "To lift some stress off our shoulders"

"You of all people would know that us shades don't feel fatigue. Those gods… they wouldn't give us a reprieve out of the goodness of their hearts," Lif replied calmly, "I know them well. They believe themselves above us mortals and would use us like mere pawns in their schemes"

"Even a pawn may be treated well if it means getting more use out of them later," Thrasir countered, strolling over to join Lif by the hillside overlooking the festival grounds. As usual, she kept her magical tome Ifingr by her side, a memento of her departed brother. Lif's own weapon: the Sökkvabekkr, was kept in his sheath, brimming with otherworldly energy, "Still, I agree with your logic. What purpose could they have sending us here…?"

"It's hard to tell. Their instructions were so vague and…" Lif rose his hands up to his masked face. They were trembling, not out of fear, but the need to do something. Something that would aid towards reviving his and Thrasir's world, "I cannot relax without something to do"

""When you arrive, you will understand."," Thrasir quoted carefully, recalling the instructions the goddess of war told them, "That's all she told us"

"Left in the dark, playing charades on the grand stage of the gods…" Lif muttered, mildly discontent, "Irksome, but not unexpected"

"If it means saving our world, it's what we must do," Thrasir said in agreed acceptance. Even after all this time, Lif was surprised how freely Thrasir used the word "we" in her sentences, as if their experiences made him and her one whole. Not that it wasn't true. Him and Thrasir were the last remaining hopes of their worlds. And like a beacon in the dark, it fades away once other lights take over, "There isn't any other option"

"I wasn't about to argue that. Our fates lie with those gods now," Lif crossed his arms, taking in the verdant scenery he lacked for so long. He lived in Hel for so long that he almost forgot how the outside world looked like and how the air felt against his translucent skin. It was breathtaking, but Lif took it in impassive stride, "But if we can uncover their weaknesses and make them go our way…"

"Then we'll be able to restore our world all the more quicker," Thrasir agreed with a nod, "Without being puppets in their schemes for too long"

"That's the goal," Lif nodded, reaffirmed. He then turned his head to face Thrasir, who was impassively looking over the hillside towards the festival grounds. A look of longing marked her masked face, "You don't look particularly excited at that prospect"

"Lif… don't even jape like that. You know we haven't felt any semblance of happiness ever since our world fell," Thrasir sighed, gripping her bicep slightly, "It's just that even if we restore our world and bring back all that we've lost… we wouldn't exist. There wouldn't be a place for us"

"After all the sins we've committed, we wouldn't deserve to come back," Lif nodded with begrudging agreement, "We'll restore our world for our loved ones. Mine - Sharena and yours-"

"My brother. That's all I ever wanted - for him to be at my side again," Thrasir finished wistfully. Lif raised an eyebrow, reminding himself that a trace of Thrasir's childlike selfishness still remained. Not like he couldn't relate, "... Hey. Perhaps that's why the gods decided to send us to this festival?"

"Hm?"

"To remind us what we're fighting for. The Day of Devotion festival is the day to express gratitude to those important to you, is it not?" Thrasir inquired and Lif let out a deep sigh, his breath rigid and ragged as usual.

"As if we'd forget our purpose so easily. But I suppose that's the most likely conclusion," Lif conceded, "Oh what a cruel joke, having to see our former and younger selves…"

"It's a reminder of what we strive for. The future our world should have after we complete our mission," Thrasir turned her eyes to the festival grounds forlornly, "Though my brother isn't present and we won't be able to attend beyond this one instance…"

"Hm…" Lif followed Thrasir's gaze, wondering briefly to himself. He wasn't an emotional person. He never was, but perhaps the Day of Devotion would be the exception. The day to express gratitude to his one light in a bleak world. Lif found his eyes darting towards Thrasir's face and her eyes did the same, "Then we'll make the most of this day, for it won't come ever again. We aren't alone, Veronica"

"Alfonse…" Thrasir said slowly, the word dripping with tension on her lips. The name held so much importance to the general that Thrasir dared not to even say it anymore, except for rare and intimate occasions. First he was her despised enemy and then when their world fell, he was her only hope. Alfonse, the last remaining light in a world of death, "Yes. We… aren't alone. We have each other and… not even death can bring us apart"

"Fate can truly bring the strangest alliances, can't it?" Lif tentatively outstretched his hand towards Thrasir and she took it, gently lacing her fingers around his. Thrasir, a merciless force on the battlefield and one of the most feared mages across time, showed the most care tenderly gripping Lif's hand. That was the relationship the two generals had: lives build on tragedy and only finding solace in each other, "Let us go. The festival looks to be starting"

"Right. And Alfonse…" Thrasir briefly let go of Lif's hand to open her palm, an ebony purple flame appearing before manifesting into a pair of marigolds, both gently swaying in the winds. They looked so delicate next to Thrasir's blood red hands, "I have a gift for you"

"Marigolds," Lif said flatly as he took one from Thrasir's hand, twirling it in his fingers. The shimmering and everlasting gold of the flowers shocked Lif slightly, since he was too used to a world of monotone gray.

"Calendula marigolds. My brother once told me that they're offered to the dead in a celebration in the World of Steel called Dia De Los Muertos," Thrasir explained, gazing intently on her own flower, "Across different cultures in that world, it also has significance in future love. I… thought it was appropriate"

"Is that so…? It's very pretty, Thrasir. Thank you," Lif replied, clutching the flower gently in his hands. He didn't want to accidentally snap it, "Amusing how another world's celebrations find a place here"

"The Order of Heroes aren't the only people who are party-happy. Humans always find some excuse to celebrate, one way or another," Thrasir replied with a hint of laughter in her voice. Lif smiled briefly before Thrasir gently grasped his hand again, leading the hardened general down the hill and towards the festival grounds. Above them, the dark gray clouds parted and daylight broke in the early morning, washing the area in light.

"Hope… a novel concept that sticks in my tongue. Yet this world is proof that it can exist. The light is… refreshing. Dazzling even"

"Yes. And even if we leave this world, we still have each other. We are each other's lights in the darkness," Thrasir replied without looking at Lif, only squeezing his hand in response, "And it'll stay that way for as long as we live, right?"

"For as long as we exist, until we see our mission through. After that, nobody knows," Lif sighed as they slowly walked towards the festival grounds. The gate of light and the vision of a better future was only a few steps away, "Because in our broken lives, we only have-"

"-Each other left"


End file.
